A CAR SHOW LAMENT: NO BARN, NO MONEY

1935 FORD ROADSTER STREET ROD

1955 FORD THUNDERBIRD

1957 STUDEBAKER SILVER HAWK

1961 CHEVROLET HARDTOP

1937 WILLYS OVERLAND (RARE)

Monday, 8:45 AM.  72 degrees F at the ferry dock, 71 on the back porch.  Wind variable and mostly calm.  The sky is clear, the humidity 81%.  The barometer is falling, now at 30.17".  Today's high is predicted to be in the mid-80's, becoming significantly cooler by Thursday, when it will be in the 60's.  There will be chances of rain and thunderstorms as the weather cools. Pleasant weather around 70 with clear skies should arrive by the coming weekend.  I have a design project to work on while the weather is too hot to work outside, but the lawn needs to be mowed and weeds pulled in the gardens when the weather is more amenable.
   The neighboring city of Washburn held its annual Brownstone Days celebration Saturday and Sunday. It is a combination historic architecture festival, carnival and car show.  We have gone often enough over the years that we no longer tour the historic buildings, but are always interested in the car show, since many of the entries are automobile classics that Joan and I knew well in years past, and a number of the models we may even have owned.
   There was only one car at the show that I do not recall seeing before; a 1937 Willys Overland, a vehicle obviously ahead of its time, at least stylistically. Willys was a pioneer in the auto industry and went through numerous changes and transformations over the years, and finally became a major producer of the WWII Jeep, but disappeared from the industrial scene after the war.
   I was never enough of a gear head to build a real hot rod, but I owned a lot of great cars and trucks in my younger days.  Some standouts: 1939 ford pickup truck;  1939 Buick Century; 1948 Hudson; 1951 Studebaker Starlight Coupe;  1957 Chevrolet; and too many others to even think about.
   Looking at the price tags on some of the vehicles in the show, I came to the realization that if I had kept all the cars and trucks I have owned in my lifetime I would be a multi-millionaire.
   Unfortunately, I never had a barn to put them in, or the  money to own more than one vehicle at a time.